Phoebus comes back for 35-14 win over Woodside after trailing at halftime

Video: Phoebus 35, Woodside 14

Phoebus takes on Woodside in Peninsula District action Friday at Darling Stadium.

Phoebus takes on Woodside in Peninsula District action Friday at Darling Stadium.

By Dave Johnson, djohnson@dailypress.com

HAMPTON — For the first time since its opener, way back on Aug. 24 in a loss to DeMatha, Phoebus found itself on the wrong end of the halftime score. But Phantoms coach Jeremy Blunt made one simple adjustment.

It worked. After trailing by seven points at the break, the Phantoms scored four unanswered touchdowns for a 35-14 win over Woodside on Friday night at Darling Stadium. Quarterback Terrell Toliver completed five passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns, and Robbie Robinson added an electrifying 70-yard punt return.

With the win, Phoebus (7-1, 7-0) remained unbeaten in the Peninsula District entering next Saturday's showdown against Heritage. The unbeaten Hurricanes host Kecoughtan on Saturday.

Woodside (4-4, 3-4) led 14-7 at halftime behind two touchdown runs by quarterback L.J. Taylor. But Phoebus scored on its opening drive of the third quarter when Toliver lofted a 32-yard touchdown pass to tight end Troy Durham, whose defender was on his heels. It came on third-and-15.

"He threw a perfect pass," Durham said. "I had to make a perfect catch."

After the teams exchanged possessions, Toliver hooked up with wideout Darius Knight-Elliott down the left sideline for a 37-yard touchdown to make it 21-14 with 3:52 left in the third quarter. Two things will haunt Woodside about that play: Knight-Elliott was wide open, and it came on third-and-20.

The Wolverines then went three-and-out. Robinson took the punt on a bounce, briefly bobbled the ball, and was gone. No one had a hope of touching him, and the Phantoms' lead was 28-21.

"I was trying to visualize where I could go," Robinson said. "When I went to the left, I saw daylight. And I took it."

The game had completely turned.

"The punt return probably put the nail in the coffin," Woodside coach Danny Dodson said. "It was hard to recover from that."

If it's possible to rush for a quiet 170 yards, Phoebus' Marshawn Williams did. But in addition to scoring the Phantoms' first touchdown on a 16-yard run, Toliver completed four passes that gained at least 21 yards.

The last 11 months have been difficult for Anthony and Eldrie Scott, with every holiday or milestone bringing another reminder. They had lost their only child, something they pray no other parent has to experience.

Considering how well Kyle Crockett pitched for the Cleveland Indians in 43 appearances in 2014, you had to guess if he was healthy he'd be in the bullpen on Monday when the Cleveland Indians open the Major League Baseball regular season at the Houston Astros.